Pneumatic cleaner



May 12, 1970 R. B. NEWTON PNEUMATIC CLEANER Filed Feb. e, 1964 INVENTOR.

TTORNEY United States Patent O 3,510,917 PNEUMATIC CLEANER Russell B.Newton, Spartanburg, S.C., assignor to Deering Milliken ResearchCorporation, Spartanburg, S.C., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 6,1964, Ser. No. 342,924 The portion of the term of the patent subsequentto May 17, 1983, has been disclaimed Int. Cl. D01h /66' U.S. Cl. 19-2632 Claims This inventon relates generally to textile handling apparatusemploying drafting rolls and more particularly to vacuum clearingapparatus for clearing of lint and fiber from textile rolls such asthose associated with spinning frames, roving frarnes, and the like.

This inventon relates generally to the handling of any textile ;fibersbut in particular is exceptionally useful in the spinning of dyedworsted fibers. Such dyed 'worsted fibers are diflicult to spin due tothe repeated chemical processing of the fibers prior to spinning. Inprior art textile drafting apparatus the top rolls frequently becomecoated with residues of the dyestuffs causing the fibers to wrapcompletely around the roll and mat thereon. Such phenomena is called alap up and has paritally been corrected in the past by the use of aclearer in contact with the roll. Such clearers are normally equippedwith felted pads, sheep skin, etc., and are of either the revolving typeor the stationary flat type. Such clearers perform well for a while buttend to allow fiber to accumulate behind the elearer which, if notcleared by the operator, will eventually be dragged into the roll andcause one or more ends down.

It is therefore an object of the inventon to provide a top roll vacuumclearer for a drafting system which eiciently cleans the top roll anddoes not require constant cleaning by the operator.

Another object of the inventon is to provide a top roll vacuum clearerwhich will pick up fibers which tend to wrap around the top roll in caseof an end down and which also will prevent accumulation of short fibersor foreign matter coming through with the fibre being drafted.

A third object of the inventon is to provide an eflicient and economicaltop roll vacuum clearer which will maintain the top drafting roll inclean condition without constant surveillance of an operator.

A still further object of the inventon is to provide a close fittingvacuum type top roll clearer for the top front roll of a drafting systemwhich performs the dual function of physically wiping the peripheralsurface of the top roll and by the employment of a vacuum system,removes the lint and debris dislodged by the wiping action, to a pointof collection before such material can damage the fibers being drafted.

Another object of the inventon is to provide a vacuum clearing deviceadjacent the front rolls of a drafting system which will eflicientlyclear the rolls and does not require constant attention by an operator.

Other objects and advantages of my inventon will be clearly apparent asthe specification proceeds to describe the inventon with reference tothe accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective schematic view of the new and improved vacuumclearer as applied to a conventional drafting arrangement;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a blown up perspective view of the clearer element.

Looking at the drawings, especially FIGURE 1 the new and improved toproll vacuum clearer 32 is shown, for the purpose of illustration, on aconventional draft- 'ice ng arrangement 10 to which a linear mass ofstaple fibers in the form of roving 12 is fed from a supply source (notshown) to the drafting arrangement '10. The drafting arrangement isschematically illustrated for purposes of simplicity of explanation andit will be understood by those skilled in the art that conventionalrefinements may be added thereto, if desired.

In the illustrated drafting arrangement 10' as shown three sets ofdrafting rolls are provided, namely back rolls 14 and 16, middle rolls18 and 20, and front rolls 22 and 24. As in conventional practice, atleast one of each of these sets of rolls is driven, and each succeedingset of rolls is as usual driven at a faster rate than the precedingrolls in order to give the desired degree of drafting of the fibers inthe zones between the respective pairs of rolls. As is well known in theart, drafting aprons 26 and 28 are employed in conjunction with middlerolls 18 and 20, respectively, to control the fiow of fibers to thefront rolls 22 and 24. The fiber mass is twisted as it leaves the nip Nof the front pair of rolls 22 and 24 by the twisting action of atwisting and take-up device, which in the illustrative form of theinventon takes the form of a conventional ring and traveler twister 30onto 'which the drafted and twisted fiber mass is then taken up as yarnY on the bobbin B.

In the preferred form of the inventon roving 12 is dyed worsted fiberswhich are tender due to repeated chemical processing of the fibers andto the many drafting -operations prior to spinning. These fiberstherefore tend to deposit residues of the dyestulfs on the front topdrafting roll 22. Such residue is extremely hard to remove and normallyrequires periodic clearing by the operator. To alleviate this situationand to prevent ends down and laps up due to accumulation of short fibersand foreign matter in the worsted, a new and improved top roll vacuumclearer 32 is employed in combination with a convention suction manifold34. It is within the scope of this inventon to 'employ a rectangularmanifold and a bottom roll clearer of any desired type.

Suction manifold 34, connected to a source of negative pressure, notshown, has a plurality of slots 36 theren beneath each of the lowerfront rolls 24 to .gather the fiy and lint adjacent the lower frontrolls 24. Further, if the fiber should break between the rolls 22 and 24and the twister take-up device 30, the worsted fiber being processedthereafter and prior to the repair of the break will be directed to thecollection zone (not shown) through the slots 36 in the suction manifold34. This eliminates the generation of a lot of lint and fly in thesurrounding area which will not only aifect the yarn produced by theparticular set of rolls but also which can have a deleterious effect onthe yarn being produced in adjacent areas by other draftingarrangements.

Looking now in particular at the top roll vacuum clearer 32, shown incross-section in FIG. 2, it can be seen that it consists basically of anoval shaped hollow shoe member 38 which engages the top front roll 22, acollar member 40 which communicates with an opening 42 in an elongatedsuction manifold 44, and tubular members 46 and '48 which providecommunication between suction manifolds 34 and 44. Preferably, shoemember 38 and collar member 40' are molded from a plastic like materialsuch as Delrin but it is within the scope of the inventon to use anysuitable low friction or wear resistant material.

For the purpose of illustration suction manifolds 34 and 44 areinterconnected so that a single vacuum source can be employed butobviously suction manifolds 34 and 44 can each be separately attached toa suction source. Also, suction manifolds 34 and 44 are shown extendingacross a plurality of drafting positions. Again, if desired, in-

dividual suction conduits can be used at each spindle position. Theseindividual conduits can be interconnected or separately connected to avacuum source.

Looking at PIG. 3, the oval shaped hollow shoe member 38 is providedWith a rectangular fianged portion 50 which has a curved surface 52having a radius of curvature which substantively conforms to the radiusof curvature of the top front roll 22. A notch 54 is cut into one of theelongated sides of the flange member 52 for the reason hereinafter setforth. The outer dimension of the shoe member is so selected that itwill fit snugly into the collar member to prevent leakage of air but atthe same time can readily slide up and down to conform to variations inmovement of the top front roll 22.

In operation, the drafting rolls 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24 rotate in thedirection denoted by the arrows. If an end should come down any fiberwhich tends to lap around the top roll 22 will be drawn into the notch54 and be directed to the collection zone through shoe member 38, collar40, suction manifold 44, tubular conduits 46 and 48 and suction manifold34, thereby preventing 'what is known in the trade as a top roll lap.

In normal operation, any accumulation of short fibers or foreign mattercoming through with the fiber being processed and clinging to the toproll will be wiped or scraped oif the periphery of the roll 22 by theelongated edge 56 on the inside of the shoe member 38 and directed tothe collection zone (not shown). The proximity of the notch 54 to thefiber being drafted will tend to collect any loose fibers, lint, and flywhich are separated from the fiber as it enters the nip N of thedrafting rolls 22 and 24.

In the preferred form of the invention disclosed the vacuum clearer isemployed on the top front roll 22 only but it is within the scope of theinvention to use the herein disclosed vacuum clearer on the bottom frontfluted roll 24, if desired. If a bottom clearer is employed it can beemployed either alone or in combination with a top roll clearer of thetype described.

The herein disclosed top roll vacuum clearer has many obviousadvantages. Clearer 32 is simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture,and is easily installed as original equipment or as an addition toexisting frames. Clearer 32 not only prevents top roll lap up when anend comes down but serves to prevent or lessen the number of ends downby keeping the top roll clear of any fiber or trash which tends to causean excessive number of ends down. Furthermore, the new and novel cleareris substantially automatic greatly lessening the amount of time andattention required by an operator to clean and piece up ends on priorart drafting systems.

Although I have described in detail the preferred embodiment of myinvention, I contemplate that many changes may be made without departingfrom the scope or spirit of my invention, and I desire to be limitedonly by the claims.

That which is claimed is:

1. Textile drafting apparatus comprising a plurality of drafting rollsand including a pair of rolls in peripheral nip-forrning engagement witheach other, means supplying fiber to be drafted between said pair ofrolls, suction conduit means in frictional engagement with one roll ofsaid pair of rolls, said suction conduit means being a low frictionresistant substantially rigid plastic-like material to prevent excessivewear on said one roll and said suction UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,7l9,33310/1955 Buchanan 19-263 X 2,934,797 5/1960 Whitehurst et al. 19-263 X3,074,12l 1/1963 Barr et al. 19-263 3,25l,101 5/1966 Ingham.

FOREIGN PATENTS 872,939 7/1961 Great Britain.

DORSEY NEWTON, Primary Examiner

1. TEXTILE DRAFTING APPARATUS COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF DRAFTIN ROLLSAND INCLUDING A PAIR OF ROLLS IN PERIPHERAL NIP-FORMING ENGAGEMENT WITHEACH OTHER, MEANS SUPPLYING FIBER TO BE DRAFTED BETWEEN SAID PAIR OFROLLS, SUCTION CONDUIT MEANS IN FRICTIONAL ENGAGEMENT WITH ONE ROLL OFSAID PAIR OF ROLLS, SAID SUCTION CONDUIT MEANS BEING A LOW FRICTIONRESISTANT SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID PLASTI-LIKE MATERIAL TO PREVENT EXCESSIVEWEAR ON SAID ONE ROLL AND SAID SUCTION CONDUIT MEANS, MEANS FORCONNECTING SAID CONDUIT MEANS TO A SOURCE OF NEGATIVE PRESSURE, ANDMEANS PROVIDING FLUID COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SAID ONE ROLL AND SAIDSUCTIN CONDUIT MEANS TO APPLY SUCTION PRESSURE TO SAID ONE ROLL TOREMOVE LINT SCRAPED FROM SAID ONE ROLL BY SAID SUCTION CONDUIT MEANS.